Rhyson crawled under the eyebeams that Tomiki had spotted. He was trying to look carefully everywhere, but he wasn't sure he would have spotted them on his own. He liked having skilled companions. How often did he say that to himself?, he mused.

"Be careful, it doesn't seem likely that there is anyone alive in here, but you never know. More likely, there could be a live wire or some such thing." At that point he grabbed a bit of trash and tossed it lightly a bit higher on the pile to see if it reacted in any way. "Also, when you get up there - if there seems to be nothing to worry about - see if you can see anything in the ceiling. If it is going to be so conveniently exposed for us, we might as well take a look." As Tomiki got ready to climb Rhyson inspected first the pile and then turned his gaze towards the ceiling. A simple HVAC didn't give much of a hint about what this place had been used for.

"Well done, Tomiki," Máiréad said when he points out the eyebeams designed to trip something, possibly a trap, or alarm.

After they bypassed the beams, and moved towards the fallen obstacle ahead, she couldn't help but look around for anything unusual. She had a feeling that they were being watched. She looked up towards the ceiling and near the walls, for anything like a camera or anything.

"Be careful here," she said to the others in a voice low enough so only they could hear, "I feel as if there are eyes upon us. Ones that bring ill intentions towards us."

She gripped her staff tighter in both hands as they move up to the blockage and Tomiki begins to move towards the top.

"Careful Tomiki," she whispers to him. She mumbles a few words to her Spirits and picks up some dirt from the floor to rub on herself; her clothing fades a little towards a grayer color. (Cast Stone Cloak on herself. I assume it had been an hour since the initial combat, so it would had expired.)

As Tomiki nears to top to peer over it, she stands ready with her staff in hand, she takes a couple steps back from the blockade so that she can better see Tomiki up there, and her eyes scan the area of debris for anything unusual.

(OOC: Sorry for the pathetic post. I'm not up to normal today; Ill try to do better next time.)

Lum watched as the party crouched down and slipped under the beams. The big guy just groaned as he removed his gear. First sliding it under the beams then he got down and crawled through. At times being the biggest wasn't the easiest.

Moving down the hall he paused by the windows. "Hey..any of you got some tricky thing that can clean these? Maybe important stuff in there."

(If no one does he will follow the party to the mount and over.)

"Be careful, it doesn't seem likely that there is anyone alive in here, but you never know. More likely, there could be a live wire or some such thing." At that point he grabbed a bit of trash and tossed it lightly a bit higher on the pile to see if it reacted in any way. "Also, when you get up there - if there seems to be nothing to worry about - see if you can see anything in the ceiling. If it is going to be so conveniently exposed for us, we might as well take a look."

The piece of trash sailed lightly to land upon the pile of fallen equipment. It nudged another piece of trash, which moved under the new weight. Then a few of the pieces slide down the opposite side of the pile, to be followed by a few more and then a loud clatter of junk hitting the floor.

"BAMP! BAMP! BAMP! BAMP!"

A klaxon blares from above and the sound of hydraulics moving above filled the air. The alarm sounds for only a few seconds and then the speaker makes a hissing noise and goes quiet. Suddenly there is the hiss of a machine releasing and two robots hit the floor about 10 feet behind the party. They are small silver creatures, resembling cats but armed with blasters and sharp blades talons. You hear more hissing from above but further down the corridor suggesting that more have been dropped and are coming your way.

The security bots do not waste time and move to attack.

Rhyson lightly tossed a small piece of junk on the pile to see if it reacted in anyway. Crap! His concern had been if somehow this roadblock was booby trapped, maybe with an electrical current or something. Instead the piece set off a small tumble of garbage and made a fair amount of noise. That was not the plan. Nor was the alarm that started blaring. Or the cats that dropped from the ceiling. (And conveniently landed on their feet.) Nope, that had not been the plan at all. He did feel a little better knowing that Tomiki trying to climb the pile would almost certainly have set off the alarms as well. But it was still annoying. He'd thrown it lightly . . .

But the arrival of the kittens prevented him from pondering the unfairness of loud junk piles any further. Instead he got to ponder little cats with blasters and steel claws. Nice. Maybe they just wanted to be scratched behind the ears? Or maybe they just needed a little jolt.

Rhyson heard the others on the far side of the pile, but quickly decided to deal with the two directly in front of him. He cast spark jolt, hoping to catch both of them in its 6 yard by 6 yard area of effect. It shouldn't be hard. He wondered how tough little cats were.

Besides, if he missed somehow, maybe the blast would create a little visible jolt and the kittens would chase after it like a little red dot. 'Take this seriously, stupid,' he thought to himself as he sent his spell towards the blaster armed robot cats.

Máiréad whirled around to face the nearest sound of something dropping to the floor; when she saw the robotic creatures she hisses in anger. More unnatural abominations brought forth by evil men.

She looked around and saw that everyone was still close enough to her (within 6 yards, the map seems to indicate the group is still within that range). She grasps her staff in one hand and makes gestures in the air with the other as she mutters arcane prayers to the spirits for the ‘might' to defeat these evil mechanizations.

(OOC: She casts Hero's Might on the entire party, including herself - Those enhanced with Hero's Might gain a +1 bonus to damage when making melee and ranged attacks.)

After her spell is complete, Máiréad makes sure to stay behind Lum's hulking form, so that she can assist in healing when needed and he can provide some manner of protection for her. It is an arrangement that has worked out well in the past.



(Note: She had cast Stone Cloak on herself in the last post prior to the cat's dropping in. I have lost count of the Magic Points she has left, but I'm sure she has some. DM, could you update when you get a chance? Also, did she recover any between the firebug encounter and the cats?)

Lum watched as a piece of trash sailed to land upon the pile of fallen equipment. It nudged another piece of trash and quickly a cascade of the pieces slide down the opposite side of the pile.

"BAMP! BAMP! BAMP! BAMP!"

The blare of a klaxon comes from above and the sound of hydraulics moving above fills the air. The alarm sounds for only a few seconds and a speaker makes a hissing noise and goes quiet. There is the hiss of a machine releasing and two robots hit the floor about 10 feet behind the party. Lum turns to see two small silver creatures, resembling cats but armed with blasters and sharp blades talons. Then there is more hissing from above but further down the corridor suggesting that more have been dropped and are coming your way.

He drew his heavy blaster as the security bots do not waste time and move to attack.

Lum felt the tingle of Máiréad's spell as she stepped behind him. Once again Lum stood as Guardian of his little party and leveled his Heavy blaster on the Cat to his right.

Squeezing off a surge of energy he hoped it would destroy the creature or at least stop its attack.

(O.O.C.,Got a little more specific on which Cat he was attacking.)

As Tomiki readied himself to move up the wall of refuse Rhyson beat him too it by throwing a piece of junk at the top of the pile.

The piece of trash sailed lightly to land upon the pile of fallen equipment. It nudged another piece of trash, which moved under the new weight. Then a few of the pieces slide down the opposite side of the pile, to be followed by a few more and then a loud clatter of junk hitting the floor.

"BAMP! BAMP! BAMP! BAMP!"

A klaxon blared from above and in seconds two robots hit the floor about 10 feet behind the party. As Tomik watched the small silver creatures, resembling cats but armed with blasters and sharp blades talons, quickly moved to the attack.

As he went down to one knee blaster rifle up and firing his mind was running on full speed. What the hell is this place, all these f***ing bots! What have we stumbled into

No matter the answers, for the moment for the party, it was all about survival............

Máiréad casts a spell of protection upon her companions and is relieved to feel the spirits coming to her call. Swiftly too, as if the denizens of this place had not been called upon for so long and they now sought out the spell wielder. For the party, it felt like a sense of strength filled them and things appears a bit clearer in their minds.

But the cat-sentries were fast - real fast. They moved with a precision and grace that would humble their feline inspiration. The tails were blasters moving independently and targeting the warriors of the group. Tomiki was readying his blaster rifle and rolled to avoid the energy charge but took a hit to his shoulder that his armour deflected partially. Lum was hit by the other's blaster but his stronger armour took the hit and diffused the energy.

Tomiki dropped to one knee and fired at the robot. Years of training taught him to aim not where they were but where they would be and he hit it full in the main body. Its armour deflected the charge but the force of the bolt caused it to stumble and roll backwards. They could be hurt.

Rhyson had wanted to hit both bots with one spell but they were too swift and too smart to stay close together. Instead, he hit the one that Tomiki shot as it skittered to the ground and righted itself. The shock had a wonderful fulfilling effect of causing sparks and energy to arc though its body and then the cat dropped to the ground again. Although not moving, the lights in its body were flickering as its operating system attempted to restart.

Lum moved himself between the spellcasters and the robots and fired his heavy blaster, but missed as the creature zigged and zagged towards him. It leaped at him and attacked with its blade like claws, piercing through his armour and causing some painful injury (Light Wounds) to his chest and sides. The cat moved away rapidly and swung around to attack again.

Lum realised that the light in the centre of the bot was getting brighter as they fought. He had a bad feeling about this as he could hear more of them coming down the hallway.

OOC: Combat order stays the same in next round - M, CA(blasters), TO, RH, LM, CA(blades). Tomiki has minor wounds, Lum has light.

Lum had moved himself between the spellcasters and the robots and fired his heavy blaster, but missed as the creature zigged and zagged towards him. It leaped at him and attacked with its blade like claws, piercing through his armour and causing some painful injury (Light Wounds) to his chest and sides. The cat moved away rapidly and swung around to attack again.
Lum held his ground to stay between these creatures and his party.

As the cat fought the light in its middle grew brighter, this was not good. It may be learning,intensifying or calling for help. There sounds now coming from the other side of the pile.

The cat had moved more rapidly than Lum had anticipated but now he knew better and wouldn't be so kind. As cat leaped off him and away so he took his opportunity and fired again with heavy blaster as the cat was about to land and turn to attack again. The cat would need a moment touch something solid before it could move or change direction.

(O.O.C. Hopefully Lum's Quick Relexes and +2 for Accuracy will help here.)

When Lum stepped in front of Máiréad to shield her, she stayed back far enough so that she wouldn't be in his way. They had worked together long enough that they supported each other well, so when he was mauled by the 'cat' she could tell that it wasn't too bad, yet. She saved her healing for when it was truly needed and looked for an opportunity to help strike at their opponents.

She saw one of the cats go down and appear to stay down, but no .. it's lights were still on so it might still be a threat. She called upon the Spirits once again and and with a muttered phrase she took a step to the side to have a clear line of sight to the downed 'cat' and pointed at it with her extended hand. A bolt of pure white energy, as pure as the Spirits she called upon, streaked in a flash towards the wounded machine creature. As soon as the bolt is away, she takes her step back to place her behind Lum where she can be afforded some protection from the other 'cat'.

(Casting Arcane Bolt at the cat that is wounded and down. 1d6 + Willpower (+3) + Level (?). No MP cost. What level are we anyway? It does seem to say on my character sheet.)

(Spells in effect: Stone Cloak (herself), Hero's Might (Party) )

Rhyson smiled as his spark spell felled one of the cats. He wasn't sure it was finished off since its lights continued to glow, but even if only temporarily down, it should give them at least a brief break. And it did seem to indicate that his spells could be effective. That was good.

What wasn't good was that there were two more coming from the other side of the pile. He shifted his position to put his back to the wall (If possible) and turned towards the junk pile. He readied another spark jolt spell, hoping to cast it the moment something showed itself over or through the pile. He hadn't been able to hit both of the cats on this side, but perhaps the new ones would prove more willing to move forward as a group.

(Rhyson casts spark jolt the moment something appears on the pile. The goal is to hit both if possible, but if not, he will targe the one closest to him.)

Tomiki felt the pain in his shoulder knowing that though his armor had absorbed most of energy shot from the robo-cat he had still been hit. His return shot on target into the creatures main body Tomiki watched as it stumbled and roll backwards telling him they could be hurt. Gripping the rifle calmer he once more poured his fire into the same cat as before hoping his blaster fire would take it down.

(OOC: Going to use Pinpoint Attack this turn)

Máiréad fired an Arcane Blast from her staff at the wounded Catbot but just as she did it reanimated and leapt upwards, avoiding the magical attack. As it darted about, Tomiki aimed at it with an eye usually set to killing another man. Although this kitty had no heart of lungs, the central body had an area that glowed and he bet heavily on that being a weak spot. He fired and hit it directly, causing it to fly backwards and roll across the floor, the legs twitched slightly and the all lights and movements ceased from the creature.

The other cat moves up and away from the party and then turns, firing a blaster bolt from the centre of its chest. The powerful energy beam hits Lum squarely in the chest sending him flying as well, landing unceremoniously on his back, his armour smoking and crackling. Yet, he doesn't stay down and quickly rights himself back up with nothing more than a wince.

Rhyson knew there were more of them coming; he could hear their metal claws clicking on the metal grating of the floor. As soon as he saw the signs of movement on the pile, he gathered his mana and directed it at the top of the pile. As two more catboats appeared, the spark jolted through them. They sparked and lights flickered as the two suddenly lost footing and tumbled downwards, but these cats recover faster than the other one, resetting
themselves by the bottom of the pile.

Lum fires at the Cat that blasted him but misses wildly.


One Dead Kitty and three live. All there are building up charges in their central blaster.

Lum- Seriously wounded (mostly due to armour and guardian skill)

The cats were fast ,and powerful. A huge energy blast had hit Lum squarely in chest driving him backwards and off his feet. If not for his armor the big guard might not have gotten up again. Rising back up to his feet in pain the big Orc opened fire again on the cat but he was only shooting wildly.

Lum knew he needed to change tactics, to do something different. These little fellows were spot on with their targeting so they must be sensor aided. Most likely they had thermal sensors to find their pry and motion detectors to guide their moves. Lum scanned the area hoping to find something to aid them in deterring or fooling those sensors. To his left on the wall was a glass cabinet and inside he could see a hose and a fire extinguisher. The big guy rushed to cabinet and pulled out the extinguisher. With all this electrical equipment around chances were good it would be a CO2 unit. If it still worked he could cast a frigid cloud over the thing that blasted him, freezing its targeting sensor. The other two cats would be range for their own cold blast.

A cold cat that didn't move would soon take a smashing blow from Lum's axe.

Swinging the nozzle toward the cat Lum pulled the trigger to release the cloud of a frosty blast.